Ramblings at this point...I write about what I notice, and I frequently discover random connect points in the process.

Thursday, March 31, 2016

Practice Doesn't Make Perfect

"Practice makes
perfect." Surely a mantra we all heard as children…whether it was in sports,
spelling, music or math. This was a standard line repeated by grown-ups who
were just trying to help us learn. Practice is a good thing…right? But perfect?
Rarely possible.

Over the years, I've come to
understand perfection is a false master regardless of the task. My perfect
custard might look like your messy pie. Your perfect swan dive might be my
belly flop. Perfection is subjective. It's as inaccurate a measure of success
as coloring in the lines is for creativity.Practice, however, is the part of
this adage that is really more important. After years of being tethered to that
false master of perfection, I’ve learned being open to the adventure that
practice brings is freeing, encouraging and often surprising.In my daily life, both writing
and yoga teach me the delight is in the practice, not in the striving for
perfection. I practice to finish something so I can try again. I practice to
expand my perspective and learn more. I practice to get better and explore
what's next.My yoga practice recently led me
to a handstand and a backbend. My writing practice has sparked a curiosity I
didn’t know I had. Both have given me a satisfaction I wouldn’t have discovered
if I had been seeking perfection rather than practicing.My writing often involves taking
rambling notes of observations with no idea of what connect points may eventually
arise. These notes may be random words scribbled on the back of receipts or
emails I send myself while waiting for the gas tank to fill. Just the practice
of capturing observations, turns of words or the echoes of people’s stories
gives me huge pleasure - not because I'm using them to write a perfect best
seller, but because they keep me curious.

The practice of writing is also
calming. I can often tame those head chatter thoughts clanging around like
pinball marbles once I take a few minutes to shoot them out through my fingers.
If something insightful lands on the page, great. If a connection to someone comes
of it, all the better.

But I know one thing for sure…I
never want to perfect this practice of writing because then I’d stop asking questions
and discovering new paths. Perfection is when the fun and discovery of it end.When I first started frequenting
yoga classes I thought the phrase "practice yoga" sounded a bit
pretentious…and yoga isn't supposed to be pretentious, right? At first, it
often seemed the instructor who spoke the words "practice yoga" was a
limber 20-something who didn't get it was impossible for a middle aged woman to
practice herself into a backbend or headstand.After a couple of years of an
increasingly frequent yoga practice and some very gifted and encouraging instructors,
however, I now understand now why it’s called a practice. I initially saw yoga
as striving toward an athletic goal like moving from a circuit of 30 squats to
40 squats to 50 squats.I’ve discovered the real
practice with yoga is the exact opposite of striving – it’s working from where
you are at that moment. Maybe today I can do a backbend, but tomorrow I may
not even be able to touch my toes. That’s ok… just enjoy and finish today’s
practice and come next time ready to practice again.In her book, Bird by Bird, writer
Anne Lamott speaks beautifully of practice and making a commitment to finishing
(in this case she's talking about writing but it's an apt observation for any
type of practice). "What you are doing may just be practice. But this is
how you are going to get better, and there is no point in practicing if you
don't finish."But finishing here doesn’t mean
perfecting. There's always more to see, learn and discover if we allow it and
just keep practicing, not striving for that unreachable state of perfection.I think I’ll stay on this path of
practicing practice rather than practicing perfection for a while. It’s a lot more
fun.

About Me

I've always got words shooting out of the ends of my fingers, and this blog is my attempt to put some order to the random connect points that result when my fingers hit the keyboard.
Like many things in life, the blog may be a little messy in places, so just ignore that like you would a pile of clothes on the floor.
I tweet @rebahcampbell @randomconnectpoints
On Instagram: random_connect_points